This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-203129 filed Jul. 4, 2001, which application is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a wire harness-disposing sliding part that is used to dispose a wire harness between a vehicle body and a sliding door movable relatively to the vehicle body.
Vehicles with sliding door construction, are provided with a continuous feeding system where a wire harness is disposed between the vehicle body and the sliding door. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a wire harness disposing unit is used in the continuous feeding system. The wire harness disposing unit has a rail member 1 and a sliding part 2 mounted on the rail member 1. The sliding part 2 is slidable in a longitudinal direction of the rail member 1.
More specifically, the wire harness disposing unit rail member 1 has a rectangular extruded metal material and an expanding slot 1a. The slot 1a has a predetermined width and extends in the longitudinal direction on one side surface. The wire harness disposing unit also includes the sliding part 2. The sliding part 2 has a holding portion 2a on both sides holding edges of a pair of flat guide rail portions 1b. The edges of the flat guide rail portions 1b fit on the holding portion 2a. The edges of the flat guide rail portions 1b confront each other at the position of the expanding slot of the rail member 1. The holding portion 2a is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail portion 1b. 
The rail member 1 is fixed to an appropriate position of the vehicle body. The sliding part 2, fixed to an appropriate position of the sliding door, is slidably mounted on both guide rail portions 1b. The sliding part 2 slides over the guide rail portions 1b. Accordingly, during a sliding operation, the sliding part 2 slides along the guide rail portions 1b. 
By utilizing a grommet, a wire harness 4 extends from the vehicle body. The wire harness 4 passes through a grommet and is wired inside the rail member 1 through an unshown insertion opening formed on a side surface 1c opposite to the expanding slot 1a. The wire harness 4 is wired from the inside of the rail member 1 to the sliding door through an insertion opening formed on the sliding part 2. A loose portion 4a of the wire harness 4 remains inside a space of the rail member 1. The length of the loose portion 4a is set so that a smooth sliding movement of the sliding part 2 is achieved in the longitudinal direction of the rail member 1.
The wire harness 4, inside the rail member 1, has a flat cable construction to make the wire harness 4 flexible. Thus the U-shaped loose portion 4a is formed inside the rail member 1. The sliding part 2 which slides along the guide rail portion 1b of the rail member 1 is made of a metal material or a resinous material with superior wear resistance.
However when the sliding part 2 slides along the rail member 1, noise is generated due to the sliding of the sliding part 2 along the rail member 1. Also, an impact noise is generated due to the presence of a gap. Thus, a resinous material tends to be used for the sliding part 2 because it is superior in sound-proof and sound absorption.
However, the use of the resinous material superior in sound-proof and sound absorption can reduce the sliding-caused noise and the impact noise to some extent. In recent years, vehicles are less noisy. Thus the resinous material is not effective for reducing the sliding-caused noise and the impact noise. Therefore there is a growing demand for the use of other suitable materials and improvement of the construction of the wire harness-wiring sliding part.
The present invention has been made in view of the above disadvantages. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wire harness-wiring sliding part capable of effectively reducing a sliding-caused noise or an impact noise.
The present invention provides a wire harness-wiring sliding part including a sliding part and a rail member on which the sliding part is mounted. The rail member has a pair of confronting guide rail portions longitudinally disposed in confrontation with each other at a predetermined interval. The sliding part has a holding portion on both sides. The sliding part holds edges of the opposing guide rail portions and is longitudinally slidable. A wire harness extends from a vehicle body. The wire harness is wired from a vehicle body provided with the rail member to a sliding door provided with the sliding part through the sliding part. A felt material is installed on an inner surface of each of the holding portions of the sliding part along a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the rail member. The felt fills a gap between the inner surface and a peripheral surface of an end portion of the guide rail portion.
It is preferable to install the felt material on an entire inner surface of the holding portion. It is preferable to install the felt material separately at a plurality of positions of the inner surface of the holding portion in a longitudinal direction of the rail member. It is preferable to compose the sliding part of a pair of split parts and fix the split parts to each other, with the felt material sandwiched therebetween. It is preferable to impregnate the felt material with a lubricant.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.